


Rewrite

by CleanLenins



Series: A Different Direction [2]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Danny Phantom's Identity Is A Secret, Gen Work, Not Phantom Planet Compliant (Danny Phantom), Time Loop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CleanLenins/pseuds/CleanLenins
Summary: Danny's life has been going great. It took two years since the accident, but he finally has his life balanced. Until summer ends and the first day of school starts. He is having probably one of the first worst days of his half-life, and it just won't seem to end. Literally. Danny, Sam, and Tucker have to find out exactly what is causing this groundhog day scenario. Has Danny developed a new ability he needs to control? Is Clockwork messing with him for some unknown reason? Or is he trapped in some horrible loop from one of his many enemies.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson
Series: A Different Direction [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091894
Comments: 20
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking on my first fanfic! More notes at the end.

A bedraggled leather-bound journal floated haphazardly through the swirls of the Ghost Zone. Occasional passing ectopus and other items caused the journal to careen into new and random directions. Deemed uninteresting by the passing specters, the journal twisted and twirled through the murk, as a feather in the wind. 

This book floated closer to a large structure made of brick and razor wire. Sirens screamed through the air as lights flashed from the other side of the wall. Ghosts decked in riot gear rushed around the prison, chasing down prisoners clad in black and white stripes. Harried as they were, these prison guards did not notice as the real world object floated through the brick walls and steel beams into the heart of the Prison. Walker, the Warden, was also occupied. The book floated past the white clad ghost just as Walker took a heavy blow from a teenager with white hair. The book changed direction once more as the churning air pushed it away from the brawl. The book floated back through another wall, and another, and another. If it had eyes, it would be witnessing the chaos that had erupted in the prison. Flashes of green light scarring the walls with scorch marks, cracks and holes in the floor from bodies thrown with great force, chairs and tables and iron bars ripped to pieces or smashed over ghostly forms. War cries, and taunts, and shouts of “Beware” rang with the heavy thuds of fists meeting stomachs. 

The book flew through another cell, this one untouched by the chaos outside. Just as it was about to float once more out of the room, a pale hand snatched it from the air. Green eyes stared at the journal, flipping through the mostly empty pages.

“This will do,” The ghost said. 

~~~

Danny groaned when his alarm clock went off at seven am. He had only gotten a little more than forty-five minutes of sleep, having been up all night chasing what seemed to be an entire colony of ectopus. It was weird. He had never seen them group together like that before, and he hoped he never would again. It had taken him nearly all night to get all twenty-seven of them. They were easy to catch, but finding them had been the worst game of hot-and-cold with his ghost sense. Maybe next time he should grab the Fenton Finder when he goes out. It was irritating how it continually beeped because of his own ectosignature, but he could deal with the annoyance if it meant he could get a bit more sleep. 

Danny pulled himself into a sitting position, trying not to fall back asleep as his head nodded forward against his chest. It was the first day back at Casper High. A brand new year. Just great. Finally, he was halfway done with the torment that was high school. Yawning wide, he walked to the bathroom that he used to share with his sister.

Life had been weird without Jazz around all the time. She had left for an early summer program for honors students at Yale almost as soon as summer started. Sure, he had less opportunities to be psychoanalyzed over breakfast, but keeping his secret from his parents had definitely become harder. He had finally found a balance to maintain his grades to at least a C last semester, but his parents were feeling very sentimental this summer since Jaz left. They suddenly wanted to spend every moment they could with their baby boy. Which Danny just didn’t have time for.

Danny brushed his teeth in a haze, wishing he could have gotten a little more sleep. First days of school are usually pretty boring, so he could probably get through the day. Still.

“Danny, come down for breakfast!” He heard his mom call. He rinsed his mouth before answering.

“One minute, I’m in the bathroom,” He called down, fighting another yawn. Splashing water in his face, he made his way back to his room to change. Getting ready, and grabbing his book bag, he made his way downstairs. His parents were all smiles, having prepared a comically large breakfast. Jack Fenton held a small white board in his hands. Danny groaned.

“I think I will just skip breakfast,” Danny said.

“Nonsense! It's time for another Fenton Family Funtime. We are going to answer pancakes and eat trivia,” Jack Fenton said. “Wait.”

“Come on Danny, we know you enjoy trivia. You and Jazz used to love this game when you were kids,” Maddie Fenton said.

“As fun as that sounds, I think I am going to pass,” Danny said, grabbing the carton of milk from the fridge. Looking at the date listed on it, he promptly put it back.

“Danny. We just want to spend time with you. You’re going into your Junior year! After this it's all college applications and state tests and-” Maddie Fenton said, her eyes misty. 

Danny sighed, too tired to fight. He sunk down into the chair, resisting the urge to lay down across the table. He picked at a piece of burnt toast. At least it wasn’t glowing. 

“Okay okay okay,” Maddie said, sitting primly. She held notecards. “First question! What scientist was also the sixth abbot of Brno's Abbey of Saint Thomas?”

“Uh-” Danny said.

“Oh oh! Pick me!” Jack Fenton said, knocking food into the floor.

“Alright, Jack,” Maddie said.

“Gregor Mendel,” Jack said.

“That's correct,” Maddie said. Danny continued to pick at the toast, trying to scrape off the burnt top. “Next question, what is the more common name for a Hallux?”

Jack once again raised his hand, frantically waving it. Maddie laughed.

“Alright Jack, your turn again,”

“The big toe!” Jack said. Maddie gave him the affirmative, before continuing to ask more questions. Danny sighed and checked out of the conversation, his eyes drooping as each question was asked. Maddie noticed this with a frown.

“Now, Jack. Why don’t we give Danny a turn to answer this?” Maddie said.

“Aww,” Jack pouted.

“Well, Danny?” Maddie asked.

“Hm?” Danny said, sitting up straight.

“Did you hear the question?” Maddie asked, put out.

“Oh, I guess I didn’t,” Danny said.

“Well, the question was ‘What scientist created a famous thought experiment about quantum superposition?” Maddie repeated.

Danny blinked and then sighed before merely shrugging.

“Come on, Danny-boy. You know this one,”Jack encouraged. 

“I really don’t,” Danny said, standing up. He slung his worn purple backpack off the chair and over his shoulder. “Anyways, I am going to head to school now. I will see you guys later."

"Danny-" Maddie started, but Danny was already out the door without a further word. The door slammed loudly behind him. Jack and Maddie looked at each other a little disappointed.

Danny hopped down the steps in front of his house and walked the direction of his school. Mid-august heat scorched down, a late season heatwave hitting Minnesota. Danny's already sour mood turned worse at the feel of the heat on his face. He pulled at his ice core, a small gasp of cold air helping to cool him. 

A short beep behind made him turn. An old Volkswagen Van, repainted in purple and black pulled to the curb. The sides held intricate murals of thorny vines surrounding a patch of black chalkboard paint. On it was written whatever the current issue that its driver was focused on. Today, it was the disbandment of PETA, a link to a petition was written beneath the statement.

Sam manually rolled down the old van's window, smirking at her wilting boyfriend. "Need a lift?"

Danny smiled brightly at her, his shoulders relaxing. Quickly, he ran around the side to the passenger seat, hopping into the old van. 

"Thanks, Sam. You've already made my day one hundred times better," Danny said with a grin. Sam's smile only widened.

"Right back at you, Danny," Sam said and leaned in for a kiss.

"Yeah, it's great to see each other. Blah blah blah. Can you two lovebirds get a room? I just wanted a ride, not to barf up my breakfast," a voice said with disgust. Danny looked back to see his best friend Tucker fiddling with his pda, face twisted with distaste.

"Hey, it's my van. I can do what I want," Sam snapped back, pecking Danny on the cheek.

"Well, how about when you two do 'whatever you want' in this van, how about leaving me at home!" Tucker said.

Sam and Danny's faces burned, both looked away from Tucker with a nervous laugh. Tucker paused to look at his friends guilty faces, both of them squirming in their seats as Danny put his seatbelt on. Tucker's eyes widened just as Sam pulled back onto the road.

"Ew, and you let me SIT BACK HERE?" Tucker cried as the van made its way to the school. 

Casper High already had many less than eager students piling back into its halls. Students ran and hugged friends they hadn't seen over the summer. Jocks attempted to show off by throwing a football back and forth. Oh, wait. That's not a football. Jocks attempted to show off by throwing a smaller nerd's backpack back and forth. The shorter kid desperately trying to grab it out of the air. A few girls stood to the side, fixing their makeup and gushing about each other's outfits. Other students passed by these groups, each individual in their own way. A group of freshmen passed by wearing Phantom merchandise, bought from the very well stocked online store FoleyFinds.

Danny was examining the terrain when his ghost sense went off. He sat up straight as the shiver ran down his spine. Sam glanced at him from the corner of her eye before searching the skyline.

Almost immediately, three ectopus became visible, dive bombing down at the crowd of students. Students screamed, and scattered. The backpack being tossed about by the Jocks landed with a thud as the students rushed into the building. It was easy to tell the freshman from the seniors, even without the height differences. The Seniors moved quickly, but not nearly as terrified as their smaller counterparts. Casper Middle never did get as many attacks as the high school.

"At least that makes it an even thirty," Tucker said, watching as the otherworldly beings began tearing apart the items left behind. Danny merely sighed, a glowing ring forming around his abdomen as he dug his Fenton Thermos out of his bag. Within seconds, his black hair had changed to white and he invisibly floated out of the Van.

Two of the Ectopuses were playing tug-of-war with a discarded hoodie. Why anyone would be wearing a hoodie in this weather was beyond Phantom. Invisibly, he flew up behind the two Ectopus and sucked the two into the Thermos, their high pitched squeals eliciting no response for the exhausted ghost hunter. The final Ectopus, seeing its companions capture, turned to flee from the glowing blue light. Turning visible, Phantom flew after the tiny ghost. Sam and Tucker finally exited the van, Danny's bookbag in Sam's hand as they watched Phantom fly away.

"I think we would be more help getting Danny's schedule for him," Sam said, turning in the direction of the school. Already, students were coming out to inspect the damage, some morosely as they saw their things in ruin. "He can handle a single Ectopus."

"And if he can't, we can raz him about it all day," Tucker said, giving Sam a glance. "You can still give him hell even if you're dating, right?"

"Oh yeah. If dating meant I couldn't tease him every once in a while, I would have turned him down cold," Sam said with a laugh. The two entered the building and headed toward the office. Already, a line had reformed for schedule pick up. A little window stood at the front of the office so that you didn’t actually have to go into the main foyer of the room. A few freshmen in line looked a bit shaken, but most of the students looked back to normal. They only had to wait a few minutes before a familiar head of messy black hair made its way back to them. 

"Thanks for saving me a spot," Danny yawned, his tired eyes barely staying open.

"Damn, Danny. You really do look a wreck," Tucker said, inspecting his friend comically close. Danny used his whole hand to push Tucker's face away, knocking his glasses askew.

"Yeah, yeah. New year, same sleep deprivation. At least today should be pretty chill," Danny said. He reached reflexively to grab Sam's hand, interlocking his fingers with hers. Tucker just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, new year. And unless I find myself a girlfriend, another semester of third wheeling with you two. Thanks but no thanks," Tucker said, eyeing the girls walking in the hallway. Most didn't even look at him.

Sam and Danny blushed slightly, grinning at each other. Over the winter break, Danny had done whatever he could to avoid Christmas prep at Fentonworks, skiving off as much as possible. He had found himself at Sam's house more often than not. Hanukkah is a more important holiday in the Manson household. One day, after the two had worked together to take down the Lunchlady, Danny had given Sam a celebratory hug. In the heat of the moment, Sam had kissed him causing both of them to stop short. After an awkward few minutes, Danny had asked Sam if she wanted to go grab a late dinner at Nasty Burger. Sam agreed, and not long after that they had made it official.

The holiday season was a little more special to Danny now.

Grabbing their schedules, the three friends meandered off to the side to compare them. Danny felt his heart drop.

"Well, we knew that it was going to be slightly off this year," Tucker started. He stared at the mess of the schedule.

Tucker had signed up for the AP Computer Science course as well as the dual-credit business course that was offered this year. Sam had signed up for Environmental Science. Neither of which had interested Danny. However, he had been interested in the Astronomy class being offered for duel-credit. Sam and Tucker had offered to take whatever courses Danny picked, as they were a huge reason he had passed the previous year. They always let him know what work he had missed so he could at least squeeze by without a zero, even if it was late. Danny had adamantly refused. He figured he could squeeze by with the few classes they didn't share, and then get help with their shared classes. Big mistake.

"I am only in like one class with you, dude," Tucker said. "And Sam is only in two. And look at next semester! Sam doesn't even have a class with you. And I only have one. Our lunch blocks aren't even the same!"

Danny nodded sadly, noticing the class line up. It was depressing, to say the least. He and Sam would share American Literature, at the very least. English classes were his worst subject. And then all of them would have US History this semester. But in his other classes he would be alone.

"It's fine, guys. I can manage. I've gotten a ton better about managing my time," Danny said.

"Danny, it's not too late for us to change our schedules. I can drop Environmental Science," Sam said.

"And I am only taking CompSci to get the college credit! I already know it," Tucker said.

"No, it's fine. You guys take the classes you want," Danny said firmly. "I'll manage."

"You sure?" Tucker asked, searching Danny's face.

"Very," Danny said, forcing a smile.

"Well, okay. We should probably head to our lockers. At least we were able to score some that were close to each other," Tucker said. Sam gently squeezed Danny's hand.

"Sounds like a plan," Sam said, guiding Danny away.

Tucker started telling about his new project as they walked, but Danny wasn't listening all that closely. They had all read his schedule. They knew that something was missing.

He didn't get into Astronomy.

~~~

Danny was fiddling with the stuff in his locker when water was poured on his head. The sudden cold startled him as he reflexively took a step back. A well placed leg tripped him up and he found himself falling to the floor. For a moment, he considered just letting himself float there, avoiding the hard linoleum covered concrete floor. But the temptation passed. He landed on the ground with a thud, water dripping from his hair.

His long time bully Dash was standing over him, a shit eating grin on his face and an empty water bottle in his hand.

"Welcome back, Fenturd," Dash said, dropping the water bottle on Danny's chest. The light plastic bounced off onto the floor, making a slight clack against the floor.

"Thanks, Dash," Danny said tiredly. Danny shook his hair and started to get up when another water bottle was dumped on top of him. Dash let this one drop as well. They were beginning to draw a crowd. Curious freshman peaked at the interaction, cautious about getting involved. Danny just let the water drip, expressionless. Sam, however, was red with rage. She started to say something, but Danny met her eye. Gritting her teeth, she crossed her arms and fumed. For a second time, Danny tried to stand up.

Dash stood on Danny's hand. Not with his full weight, but enough to make Danny wince. Danny immediately stopped trying to stand, as this was familiar at this point. Dash had not taken it well when Danny had passed him in height last year. Instead of lifting the teen by the collar, Dash had made it a habit to knock Danny to the ground instead. The water was new.

Once more, a deluge of water poured on top of Danny's head. This time, a slow and steady pour, drawn out for all the crowd to see. A few had pulled out their phones to record the interaction. Danny said nothing, even when Dash tossed the final bottle at Danny's head before laughing and walking away. The crowd began to disperse, whispers and laughter heard.

Danny pushed the wet hair out of his eyes, his drenched shirt sticking to his chest. Tucked and Sam each gave him a hand, as he stood. His tennis shoes slid in the now pooling water. Sam looked ready to explode.

"Sam, it's-"

"Don’t you  _ dare _ say it’s no big deal. We are not going through another semester of Dash’s bullying,” Sam hissed. Danny held up his hands, trying to be a calming presence.

“I’m not really sure how it's going to change now, Sam. Danny has been dealing with Dash’s crap for years. The teachers don’t care. You’re gonna have to do something creative to get it to stop,” Tucker said.

“I will think of something,” Sam said decisively, her eyes glittering. She searched her bag to find something to help Danny dry off.

“Don’t worry about it. I am going to head to the bathroom and...get some of this water off, if you know what I mean?” Danny said. “You guys are going to be late for homeroom. Go on ahead. We aren’t in the same homeroom this year.”

“Danny, are you sure? We don’t mind waiting,” Tucker said.

“I know you don’t. It’s fine. I’ll see you guys later,” Danny said as he squished away in his soaked clothes. Tucker and Sam glanced at each other before walking away. 

Danny ignored the stares as he walked down the hallway, pretending it didn’t phase him. He had endured worse humiliations over the last few years than getting soaked first thing in the morning. He would phase out of the water quickly, and make it to his new homeroom in no time. Or so he had planned. Just as he was about to turn the corner to get to the closest bathroom, a hand shot out to stop him in his tracks.

“Mr. Fenton, can you explain to me why you are dripping all over the floors?” Mr. Lancer said.

“Dash poured water on me?” Danny said with a shrug. “I was going to get some paper towels or something to dry off.”

“Really, I very much doubt that a few paper towels are going to dry all of...this,” Mr. Lancer gestured at Danny’s clothes. Danny felt heat in his cheeks. “Go to the office to see if they have a spare change of clothes for you to wear.”

“Mr. Lancer-” Danny argued.

“No, that wasn’t up for debate Mr. Fenton. Office. Now,” Mr. Lancer said, directing the dripping Danny Fenton to the Office. Mr. Lancer walked with him, moving students out of the way as to not get anyone else damper than a dead Gatsby. A few students giggle. Danny shuffled into the office, the secretary gaping at him. The boys soccer coach, Coach Langford, was leaning against the desk, looking slightly put out at having his conversation with the secretary interrupted. 

“Oh, Mr. Fenton. You are soaked. Come back here, I have something that would probably work for you,” the secretary said with a sympathetic smile. A few students milling about in the office turned to see, and snickered. Danny slouched forward to here as she pulled up a wrinkled and fade scrub top a size too big for him. Danny eyes it with distaste.

“I think I would rather just be wet,” Danny said

“Nonsense, Mr. Fenton. Put on the shirt. Miss Terrel, please find somewhere that Danny’s shirt can dry off,” Mr. Lancer said.

“Hand me your shirt, dear,” Miss Terrel said kindly. Danny felt the tips of his ears turn red as the two freshmen girls in the corner giggled.

“I think I would rather change in the bathroom,” Danny mumbled. Coach Langford rolled his eyes.

“Kid, you are already causing trouble on your first day. Just do what Miss Terrel says,” Coach Langford said. Danny shot him a look of dislike before reaching for the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head. 

The giggling girls stopped giggling and merely stared. As Danny once again pushed his hair out of his eyes, their eyes widened. The teachers in the room looked shocked as well. Danny tended to wear baggier clothes and longer sleeves so no one in the room, young or old had realized.

The kid was ripped.

Not like a bodybuilder, or even a football star. It was lean muscle, similar to a gymnast or a martial artist. When Danny thrust his arms through the sleeves of the ugly scrub top, the younger girls looked to see a defined ‘V’ shape right below his slight abs. Both girls looked red in the face, but not nearly so much as Danny did once he got the shirt over his shoulders and covered. He slouched once more, hiding the shape of his body.

“When can I come back and grab my shirt,” Danny said sadly. 

“Oh, after the first period it should be good,” Miss Terrel said kindly. Coach Langford looked Danny up and down.

“Cool, bye,” Danny said in a hurry, turning to leave.

“Hey kid, have you ever considered trying out for the soccer team,” Coach Langford said encouragingly. He took a step toward Danny.

“Nope,” Danny said, popping the ‘p’. And he walked out of the office as quickly as possible, rushing down the hallway. The coach frowned after him in thought.

Danny once more returned to his locker, nearly slipping on the wet floor. He grabbed a few things before rushing off to his new homeroom. He crossed the threshold just as the final bell was tolling, slightly out of breath. Everyone in the room stared at him as he walked in. There was only one seat available, behind Valerie. Danny sighed in relief. At least it wasn’t Dash.

Ignoring the look he was getting from the teacher, Mr. Falluca, Danny made his way to the seat quickly, dropping down into it with a huff. Valerie looked at him with amusement.

“You look awful,” she said with a smirk.

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep great,” Danny said with a shrug, he smiled back at Valerie.

“Not the best way to start off the year,” she admonished. 

“Oh well, it's just the first day. Not like anything important is going to happen,” Danny said. 

“Okay, everyone. Pay attention. We have a very important announcement,” Mr. Falluca said. Danny stared in disbelief as Valerie tried to hold back her laughter. “Test scores last year were lower than they have been in years. And with the constant threat to school security because of Ghosts, there are going to be a lot of policy changes.”

“Rule One: No one can leave the class for any reason unless the teacher deems it to be an emergency,” Mr. Falluca said. The class started to protest. Valerie and Danny looked on with horror. “Don’t bother crying to me, this is a school wide policy. Ghost attacks come out of nowhere. They don’t want kids unattended if there is a danger about. The Fentons have upgraded our alert system as much as they can, but we still never know when an attack is going to come. So, no leaving the class, except during breaks.”

Danny felt his gut turn in knots. Valerie also looked put out. Neither of them would be able to leave the class to fight ghosts. Even with a subpar excuse, the teachers had stopped trying to prevent Danny from leaving the classroom. They knew he would duck out of class anyways. The new rule wasn’t going to stop him, either, if it meant someone would get hurt. Danny slumped further into his seat thinking about the detentions he will be given this year. 

“Rule Two: Students who maintain lower than a C average will be required to go to mandatory tutoring. It will be set up by day, so some subjects will be tutored on one school day and others on another. All of them will either meet before school or after school, depending on the need. So try to focus on keeping your grades up. Us teachers don’t want to stay late either, you know,” Mr. Falluca said, his eyes flickering to Danny. Danny continued to sink into his seat, the scrub top starting to ride up slightly.

“However, for students who are worried about their grades, there are going to be several opportunities to bring your grades up this semester through volunteer work,” Mr. Falluca said. The teacher grabbed a small stack of papers and began handing them out. “Here is a list of all the available volunteer opportunities the school has set up so far. We expect a few more to be added to the list, but these are the ones that are approved for school credit.”

Danny grabbed the list, but didn’t bother to look over it before stuffing it in his binder. He was sure that he was going to get roped into one of these eventually. Not knowing what he would have to do for a little bit longer seemed blissful. Valerie on the other hand was already scanning the options, looking for the ones that would be the most beneficial. Mr. Falluca continued on with the announcements, but Danny had already checked out of what the teacher was saying. His head had begun to ache from the news and from his sleepless night. Mr. Falluca read out dates for club sign ups, tryouts for different sports, bake sales already in the works, School events, dances, blah blah blah blah Danny felt his head falling closer and closer to the desk in front of him.

His eyes fluttered closed as he felt his head lean against the cold desk. Just five minutes and he would feel like a new man. He could get through today. Just a few minutes of…

Danny groaned when his alarm clock went off at seven am. He had only gotten a little more than forty-five minutes of sleep, having been up all night chasing what seemed to be an entire colony of ectopus. It was weird. He had never seen them group together like that before, and he hoped he never would-

Danny sat up in his bed, eyes wide. The alarm clock is still screaming. Danny’s head whipped back and forth, looking at the blue paint on the walls of his room. His old computer whired softly, and the sound of his mother banging around in the kitchen downstairs.

“Wait what?” Danny said blearily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Please let me know what you thought. I know the first chapter is a little slow, but it will pick up from here. Hopefully.
> 
> Also, all the policies the school had in place were things that were actually a thing at the school I used to work at. They would have scrubs for kids out of dress code. And they did not allow students to leave the classroom for any reason. And they had mandatory tutoring. I know for a fact that those things are not universal, but even as a substitute teacher I thought they were stupid. So I am going to have some fun hating on that.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny blinked rapidly, trying to erase the dream he had just woken from. Pinching himself, he realized that he was awake. At least, he was awake now. He could have sworn that he had already gone to school, but the familiar blue walls were certainly not Casper High. Checking his phone, Danny confirmed the date. Yes, it was still the first day of school. He didn’t fall into some kind of coma at school. Getting up, Danny made his way to the bathroom.

Danny splashed his face with ice cold water, suppressing a slight shiver. He looked at his reflection, scanning the planes of his face for something different. Besides the dark shadows under his eyes, nothing seemed amiss. Surely it was just a dream. His life was weird, but that didn’t mean everything had to have a ghostly explanation. He just had a super realistic dream because he was stressed before the first day of school.

“Danny, come down for breakfast!” his mom called. Danny paused in the act of grabbing his toothbrush. 

“What?” Danny called down. But Maddie didn’t hear him. Danny quickly brushed his teeth before finishing getting ready and walking down the stairs. He felt on edge and far more awake than he thought he should.

He froze when he looked into the kitchen. His parents smiled at him with a mountain of food on the table, his father holding a white board. Danny felt slightly sick.

“Mom, Dad, this is a bit much, don’t you think?” Danny asked.

“Nonsense! It's time for another Fenton Family Funtime. We are going to answer pancakes and eat trivia,” Jack Fenton said. “Wait.”

“Come on Danny, we know you enjoy trivia. You and Jazz used to love this game when you were kids,” Maddie Fenton said. 

“Yeah, but it’s just school. You don’t have to-”

“Danny. We just want to spend time with you. You’re going into your Junior year! After this it's all college applications and state tests and-” Maddie Fenton said, her eyes misty. 

Danny stared at his parents, pondering the familiarity of the words. Maddie motioned at his seat. Danny slowly walked to his seat, watching his parents’ faces for any change. They only looked at him with adoration, not noticing anything off. Danny didn’t reach for any of the food on the table.

“Okay okay okay,” Maddie said as she sat down. She pulled out some notecards. “First question! What scientist was also the sixth abbot of Brno's Abbey of Saint Thomas?”

Danny looked at his parents wordlessly. Looking between them, trying to notice anything wrong. His parents continued on completely normally. They weren’t acting like they were overshadowed, if that was even possible with the amount of anti-possession tech each of them wore near constantly. And his ghost sense would go off if there were ghosts nearby, anyway. So why did he suspect something was off. A weird wish granted by Desiree? But he didn’t wish for anything. And if someone else had wished for something, why would he remember anything. It could be Nocturne messing with him. Or Clockwork trying to teach him a lesson. Or some other ghost he had somehow pissed off that he had never heard of before. Was he just being paranoid?

“Well, Danny?” Maddie asked.

“What?” Danny said, startled from his thoughts.

“Did you hear the question?” Maddie asked with a frown.

“No, sorry. I was thinking about something,” Danny said.

“Well, the question was ‘What scientist created a famous thought experiment about quantum superposition?” Maddie repeated.

“Quantum what?” Danny said. 

“Come on, Danny-boy. You know this one,”Jack encouraged. Maddie looked at Danny hopefully.

“Um. Sorry, I really don’t know?” Danny said with a shrug. Quickly, he stepped away from the table. “I think I should go. I need to tell Sam about something important.”

"Danny-" Maddie started to say, but Danny gave his Mom a weak smile and a wave.

“We can continue this at dinner, right? And by then I can google what quantum superposing is!” Danny said. He hurried out the door into the scorching air.

Danny scanned the sky, expecting an aerial attack at any moment. On edge, he kept waiting for the cold burst of air to slip past his lips, but nothing emerged. He jumped when a car horn beeped loudly behind him. Sam’s purple van sported her weekly cause against PETA. Danny smiled at her as she rolled down the window.

“Need a lift?” The goth girl asked with a smirk.

“Yeah, thanks Sam. You’re the best,” Danny said, walking around to the other side.

"Right back at you, Danny," Sam said, she leaned in for a kiss when Danny opened the door of the van. 

"Yeah, it's great to see each other. Blah blah blah. Can you two lovebirds get a room? I just wanted a ride, not to barf up my breakfast," Tucker said.

Danny paused and looked back at his friend in confusion. Tucker barely looked up from his newest technological baby. Intent on some goal.

"Hey, it's my van. I can do what I want," Sam snapped back, pecking Danny on the cheek. Danny didn’t turn away from looking at Tucker in the back seat. 

“Okay, I am having the weirdest case of deja vu this morning,” Danny said, interrupting Tucker’s next word. 

“I mean, I tell you its gross all the time so I don’t know-”

“No, I mean,” Danny started. He paused for a second as he searched for the words. Sam began driving down the road as he thought. “I just had an extremely vivid dream this morning.”

“Woah, you were able to grab some sleep? You don’t look it,” Tucker teased. 

“Well, not much,” Danny admitted. “But I dreamed that I was already living today. The details are kind of fuzzy. But I have been having intense deja vu ever since I woke up.”

“I have dreams like that sometimes,” Sam said. “Usually if I am stressed about having to do something the next day. Like Debutante, gross. It’s like you are going about the day as normal but then you wake up in your bed.”

“Yeah, I have had dreams like that before,” Tucker added.

“I mean, yeah. Something about it just has me really on edge,” Danny admitted, feeling silly.

“I get it dude. Your life is basically always ‘on edge’. Honestly, I think it's impressive that you aren’t completely paranoid all the time,” Tucker said.

“Thanks, Tuck. Really helpful,” Danny said. 

“You’re probably just tired,” Sam reasoned. “You couldn’t have gotten hardly any sleep last night.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Danny said, finally relaxing. “Today is going to be hard enough without adding problems that don’t exist.”

“Exactly,” Sam said as she parked her modified van. “Just a totally normal first day of school.”

Danny’s ghost sense went off, he grimaced at Sam who let out a weak chuckle.

“Oops,” She said. She stared out the window at the front lawn of the school. Three ectopuses were terrifying the student body. The Casper students were already taking emergency action. Which was, of course, running away from the flying scary green blobs.

"At least that makes it an even thirty," Tucker said with a shrug.

“Yeah, great,” Danny said, a part of his mind sending alarm bells as he quickly shifted into Phantom. He invisibly raced off to confront the green menaces. Without even shifting out of his invisibility, he sucked up the two ghosts playing tug-of-war with a hoodie. The final ghost squealed as Phantom once more became visible. It fled, Phantom following close behind in close pursuit. The little ghost zig-zagged through the air, constantly glancing back at the irritated teenager who was slowly gaining on it.

“Look, just get in the soup can and join your friends. I really don’t have time for this,” Phantom called out. The little ghost shook its head comically, trying to make a dash toward the ground. Phantom pulled off the lid of the thermos, aiming down toward the ectopus’s trajectory. With a plaintive squeal, the wiggly body of the ectopus shrunk in on itself and was pulled into the thermos. With a sigh, Phantom capped the lid. He rubbed his hand over his eyes and through his white hair. Shaking himself, he turned invisible and flew back in the direction of the school. Changing quickly inside Sam’s van, Danny walked past the students returning to grab their shredded things. Wes grabbed his slimy bedraggled sweatshirt forlornly, his brother patting him on the back. 

Quickly, Danny spotted his friends in line at the front of the office. 

"Damn, Danny. You really do look a wreck," Tucker said.

“Yeah, I think you already mentioned that,” Danny said, blinking slowly. 

“Did I?” Tucker asked, examining his sleep deprived friend. “Oh well. At least you looking like a zombie works out for me. Your exhausted butt makes me look better in comparison. I  _ need _ to find myself a girlfriend, another semester of third wheeling with you two? Thanks but no thanks.”

Sam blushed, glancing at Danny. Danny tilted his head, confused. He shook his head slowly.

“Still getting deja vu?” Sam guessed.

“Yeah…”

“Well, I remember Jazz said something about dreams allowing people to predict patterns in your life. And if anything, Tucker being dateless is predictable,” Sam teased.

“Hey, it's not my fault that people can’t handle all of this,” Tucker argued.

“Are you three going to grab your schedules, or are you just going to hold up the line all morning?” A girl interrupted. With a jolt, the three realized that they were now at the front of the line.

“Sorry,” Danny mumbled.

The three grabbed their schedules and looked over them morosely. 

"Well, we knew that it was going to be slightly off this year," Tucker started. 

“Yeah,” Danny said, only glancing at the schedule for a few moments. He hadn’t gotten into the Astronomy class he wanted, but somehow he wasn’t shocked.

"I am only in like one class with you, dude," Tucker said. "And Sam is only in two. And look at next semester-"

“I know. I see that,” Danny said, his brow furrowing in concentration. He felt lightheaded. Tucker and Sam’s voices faded, leaving only the slow sound of Danny’s heart beat in his ears. Tucker’s and Sam’s voices sounded far away, not the few feet away they were.

"Danny, it's not too late for us to change our schedules-” Sam started.

“No, I don’t want you guys to do that. It will be fine,” Danny said, rubbing his eyes. The sound of his heartbeat seemed to grow louder. 

“Danny, are you okay?” Sam asked, linking her fingers with his. Danny blinked rapidly before shaking his head. The loud drumming in his head began to disappear.

“I think so, yeah. Just...I must just be really tired,” Danny said. Sam looked back at him, unconvinced.

"Well, okay. We should probably head to our lockers. At least we were able to score some that were close to each other," Tucker said. Sam gently squeezed Danny's hand. Danny smiled back at his friends weakly. The two dragged him down the hallway.

“So, does your deja vu tell you what's going to happen next?” Tucker asked hopefully.

“It's not like I really remember the dream that well,” Danny said rolling his eyes. “I just keep having these moments that feel familiar. Like, severely familiar.”

“So, no lottery numbers?” Tucker asked.

“That would be nice. Next time I have a lucid dream, I’ll make sure to check,” Danny responded.

“It's not really a lucid dream. That would be saying you had some control over it,” Sam said, opening her new locker. “Lucid dreams are when you know you are dreaming, and you have control of the dream yourself. Your dream was just really realistic.” 

“Potato/ Tomato, Sam,” Tucker said, piling his backpack into his locker as well. 

Danny opened his mouth to respond when cold water poured over his head. With a start, he fell down on the ground with a splat.

"Welcome back, Fenturd," Dash said. Dash bounced the plastic bottle off of Danny’s chest.

Danny blinked in shock, not even responding to his bully. The blood was once more rushing in his ears, the thrum of his heart erasing the sound of the hallway. Sam looked murderous, but at the sight of Danny’s confused face, she held her tongue. Dash poured the remaining two water bottles on Danny, before walking away laughing. The crowd dispersed in a flurry of muted giggles. Danny sat on the floor for a few moments longer.

“Dude, are you okay?” Tucker asked with concern. The rushing in Danny’s ears dissipated once more. Danny looked up at Tucker, who had bent down and offered him a hand.

“Uh, yeah. It's just...Guys I think something is wrong,” Danny said, using Tucker’s hand to pull himself back up.

“I’ll say,” Sam said, fuming.“We are not going through another semester of Dash’s bullying.”

“No, I mean-”

“I’m not really sure how it's going to change now, Sam. Danny has been dealing with Dash’s crap for years. The teachers don’t care. You’re gonna have to do something creative to get it to stop,” Tucker said.

“That’s not what I-”

“I will think of something,” Sam said.

“Guys!” Danny said, startling his friends. He pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes. “I’m not talking about Dash!”

Sam and Tucker were quiet for a minute.

“You... mean the deja vu thing?” Tucker ventured. Danny nodded his head, closing his locker.

“Maybe I am just losing it, but I keep getting this feeling that something is really off,” Danny said. He leaned his forehead briefly against the locker, a deep sigh of relief as the cold metal met his skin. 

“Off how? Your ghost sense hasn’t gone off, right?” Sam asked, her hand rubbing calming circles on her boyfriend's shoulder blade.

“No, it hasn’t,” Danny stated.

“Danny,” Tucker said. “I think you are just tired and stressed. It’s the first day back, you didn’t get any sleep last night. If your ghost sense hasn’t gone off, then I don’t think there is anything to worry about. It's not like we are being attacked, right?”

“Tucker, shut up. You know anytime we joke like that, something bad happens,” Sam said.

“Pure coincidence,” Tucker said with a shrug. 

“Guys, it's just-” Danny started again.

“Danny, I know you are feeling that something’s off. And I am not saying it isn’t. But until we get more proof about it, what can we actually do?” Sam said tentatively.

“You’re right,” Danny sighed. “I’m just-I’m really tired. And I don’t want to get blindsided by something I should have seen coming.”

“Dude, we’re here for you. And we will keep an eye out for anything weird happening as well. Just try to relax until something actually happens. Well, besides getting an unwanted shower in the hallway,” Tucker said.

“Yeah, you guys should go-”

“Mr. Fenton, can you explain to me why you are dripping all over the floors?” Mr. Lancer said. Danny slipped as he turned to see the middle aged man glaring at him. Sam caught him before he could fall on his butt again.

“Dash dumped three bottles of water on Danny for no reason,” Sam said, glaring at the teacher. 

“Go to the office to see if they have a spare change of clothes for you to wear.” Mr. Lancer said with a scowl. 

“Mr. Lancer-” Danny argued.

“No, that wasn’t up for debate Mr. Fenton. Office. Now,” Mr. Lancer said, directing the dripping Danny Fenton to the Office. When Sam and Tucker tried to follow, the teacher turned to them. “You two should head to the homeroom.”

“But-”

“I think Danny can go to the office by himself, Mr. Foley,” Mr. Lancer said, before steering the soaking teen through the hallway. Danny didn’t even notice the stares as once more the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat in his ears. Mr. Lancer ushered the damp teen into the office. Miss Terrell looked up in shock. 

“Oh, Mr. Fenton. You are soaked. Come back here, I have something that would probably work for you,” the secretary said, her smile contrasting to the scowling Coach Langford leaning against her desk. She pulled out a hideous green scrub top.

“Honestly, I am fine with just being damp. It's just water,” Danny said, the pounding in his ears felt like it was growing. His heart picked up speed at the odd sensation. 

“Nonsense, Mr. Fenton. Put on the shirt. Miss Terrel, please find somewhere that Danny’s shirt can dry off,” Mr. Lancer said.

“Hand me your shirt, dear,” Miss Terrel said kindly as two girls giggled in the corner.

“Miss Terrel-” Danny started. 

“Kid, you are already causing trouble on your first day. Just do what Miss Terrel says,” Coach Langford said. Danny shook his head slowly, rubbing his eyes. But he took the shirt.

“Are you alright, Mr. Fenton?” Miss Terrel asked.

“Yeah, fine,” Danny said, quickly stripping his shirt and exchanging it for the ugly scrub. He mumbled his thanks before turning to leave. 

“Hey kid, have you ever considered trying out for the soccer team,” Coach Langford said. Danny’s head began to ache, and he didn’t even respond to the teacher before heading to Mr. Falluca’s class. Danny made his way to a seat just behind Valerie as the bell rang, ignoring the dirty looks from Mr. Falluca.

“You look awful,” Valerie said with a smirk.

“Thanks,” Danny said, holding his head in his hands. The water from his hair dripped onto the shiny plastic of the desk.

“Not the best way to start off the year,” she admonished, though she looked at him with concern.

“Yeah, I know,” Danny said. He looked up at her and gave her a weak smile before once more cradling his head in his hands. 

“Okay, everyone. Pay attention. We have a very important announcement,” Mr. Falluca said. Valerie swallowed her concern and turned back towards Mr. Falluca. “Test scores last year were lower than they have been in years. And with the constant threat to school security because of Ghosts, there are going to be a lot of policy changes.”

“Rule One: No one can leave the class for any reason unless the teacher deems it to be an emergency,” Mr. Falluca said. Danny heard the class began to protest, the pounding in Danny’s ears began to be uncomfortable, feeling like his entire head was beating in time with his heart. It was steadily getting worse. “Don’t bother crying to me, this is a school wide policy. Ghost attacks come out of nowhere. They don’t want kids unattended if there is a danger about. The Fentons have upgraded our alert system as much as they can, but we still never know when an attack is going to come. So, no leaving the class, except during breaks.”

Danny realized he was holding his breath. He forced the air in his lung outs, escaping his lips with a hiss. Valerie glanced back at Danny, her eyebrows furrowed into a defined v-shape. 

“Rule Two: Students who maintain lower than a C average will be required to go to mandatory tutoring. It will be set up by day-”

“Mr. Falluca? I think somethings up with Danny,” Valerie said, turning back to look at her friend. Danny’s entire body was tense. His palms were pressed over his eyes, as he tried to push through the headache that was building in his head.

Mr. Falluca frowned but eyed the raven-haired teen. Danny didn’t move at the mention of his name.

“Mr. Fenton, is there an-”

“I think I should go to the nurse,” Danny gasped. Mr. Falluca scowled.

“Now, Mr. Fenton. It is only the first-”

Danny was already out of his seat and throwing open the door. Mr. Falluca called after him. Danny sprinted down the hall, not paying attention to where he was going. The pain in his head continued to grow by the second, not helped by the flickering of the fluorescent lights. Danny grabbed the door to a broom closet, opening it wide and threw himself into the darkness, closing the door behind him with a loud clack. 

Danny groaned when his alarm clock went off at seven am. He had only gotten a little more than forty-five minutes of sleep, having been up all night chasing what seemed to be an entire colony of ecto- Danny sat up straight, nearly toppling over the side of his bed. His heart raced in his chest, as he jumped out of bed to scan his room for danger. His head hurt, but slowly the pain was drifting away. Danny stood, tensed to spring at the first hint of danger. However, nothing was out of the ordinary in his room. 

Danny took a deep breath, before turning off the blaring alarm clock. Quickly, he glanced at the date on his phone. August 9th. Yeah, it was definitely the first day of school. Again.

"There is no way that was a dream," Danny spoke out loud. He ran his fingers through his tangled hair, trying to remember the details of the dream. Absently, he grabbed a pad of paper and wrote down what he remembered about the dream. He had run out of Mr. Falluca’s class with a headache. He had been in the office to get a new shirt. He was wet, for some reason. There was a ghost? He tried to think about what happened, but now that he was completely awake, the details started to fade. With a sigh, he shot Sam and Tucker a quick text.

_ Guys, something weird is going on. We need to talk _ , Danny texted.

Notepad still in hand, Danny walked to the bathroom to get ready. He had just closed the door to the bathroom when he heard his mom’s voice.

“Danny, come down for breakfast!” his mom called. Danny shook his head, trying to shake off the odd feeling. He made a quick note on his pad of paper. 

“Uh, I will be down in a second,” He called down. Listening hard, he heard his mother go back to cooking.

“Cool it, Fenton. You don’t want to freak out Mom and Dad,” Danny said. He quickly got dressed, checking to see if his friends had texted back yet. Nothing. 

With a deep breath, Danny walked down the stairs cautiously. When he was in full view of the kitchen, his parents turned and looked at him. Their eyes lit up at the sight of him, and Jack waved a mini white board over the buffet of food prepared at the table. The setup strikingly familiar, Danny felt his heartbeat in his ears. 

“Uh, what’s all of this about?” Danny said, slowly inching his way towards the front door.

“It's time for another Fenton Family Funtime. We are going to answer pancakes and eat trivia,” Jack Fenton said. “Wait.”

Those exact words struck a chord, so Danny quickly scribbled it down on his pad of paper. He felt a lead weight settle into his stomach. He looked up to see his mom staring at him curiously. Danny shrugged and gave a weak smile. 

“I think I will just skip breakfast,” Danny said nervously. “I really need to get to school and pick up my schedule and such. And Sam and Tucker-”

“Come on Danny, we know you enjoy trivia. You and Jazz used to love this game when you were kids,” Maddie Fenton said, motioning for Danny to take a seat. Danny only edged closer to the living room. Maddie frowned as he inched away.

“I know. And we can do the trivia another time? Like tomorrow. I can even get up earlier so we can do more trivia questions. But right now I really need to-”

“Come on, Dann-o. You have plenty of time. Come sit down with us and have some breakfast,” Jack said, his eyes pleading. Danny could barely hear his father over the thundering roar of his own heartbeat in his ears.

“No, sorry. See you later,” Danny said. He sprinted towards the front door, pulling the door open more forcefully than necessary. The door slammed open and Danny didn’t even stop to close it behind him. 

Danny groaned when his alarm clock went off at seven am. He had only gotten a little more than forty-five minutes of slee-

“Damn it, what is going on?” Danny said, instantly upright. He slammed his hand on the alarm, cutting off its blaring noise. Danny ran his fingers through his hair roughly, not caring when he pulled painfully on a knot. He reached and grabbed the same notepad he remembered writing on before. It was blank. Quickly, before the last vestiges of sleep left his mind, he wrote down what he could remember. 

“Clockwork, if there is something you need to tell me, I would prefer you just tell me. This can’t be good for my health,” Danny said to the air. No response followed. “Yeah, didn’t think it would be that easy.”

Danny grabbed his phone and dialed Sam’s number. After a moment, Danny got Sam’s voicemail. Swearing, he hung up and tried Tucker’s phone. No response. 

“Dammit, guys,” Danny said. He quickly got ready, listening for his mom downstairs. 

“Danny, come down for breakfast!” He heard her say, he looked at the notepad, checking it with what he had heard. Not remarkable. She said that plenty of times. He hurried down the steps into the kitchen, and saw the plethora of food spread across the kitchen table. His dad holding a white board and a marker. His mom was smiling.

“It's time for another Fenton Family Funtime. We are going to answer pancakes and eat trivia,” Jack Fenton said with a smile. “Wait.”

Danny glanced at the pad of paper, noticing how he had written those exact words on there just a few minutes before. Confused, Danny did not make a move toward the table.

“Come on Danny, we know you enjoy trivia. You and Jazz used to love this game when you were kids,” Maddie Fenton said. Again those words exactly, just as he had written it. Maddie motioned for Danny to take a seat, but Danny stood staring. 

“Danny. We just want to spend time with you. You’re going into your Junior year! After this it's all college applications and state tests and-” Maddie Fenton said, a look of hurt flashed across her face.

“Okay,” Danny said, sitting. He made no move to take any of the food, but glanced around for any details that made his head hurt. His parents did not seem to notice his distraction, as they got to work on the trivia questions. 

“Okay okay okay,” Maddie said, sitting primly. She held notecards. Danny looked at the cards with suspicion. “First question! What scientist was also the sixth abbot of Brno's Abbey of Saint Thomas?”

Alarm bells rang in Danny’s ear as he wrote down the question. 

“Oh oh! Pick me!” Jack Fenton said. Neither parent noticed their son’s scribbling.

“Alright, Jack,” Maddie said.

“Gregor Mendel,” Jack said.

“That's correct,” Maddie said.“Next question, what is the more common name for a Hallux?”

Jack once again raised his hand, frantically waving it. Maddie laughed.

“Alright Jack, your turn again,”

“The big toe!” Jack said. Maddie smiled at her husband's exuberance. After asking a few more questions, Maddie finally noticed her son’s distraction. 

“Now, Jack. Why don’t we give Danny a turn to answer this?” Maddie said.

“Aww,” Jack pouted.

“Well, Danny?” Maddie asked.

“Hm?” Danny said, rubbing his temple with his left hand. 

“Did you hear the question?” Maddie asked, put out.

“‘What scientist created a famous thought experiment about quantum superposition?” Danny said.

“Well, yes,” Maddie said, relaxing.

“I don’t know,” Danny said. The pounding in his ears has lessened. It was still there, the gentle thud of his heart causing everything to sound slightly muted. But the pain accompanying it had faded. 

“Come on, Danny-boy. You know this one,”Jack encouraged.

“I need to go ahead and head to school. I really need to talk to Tucker and Sam about something,” Danny said, walking away. He looked once more at his notebook. His parents protested, but he was already out the door. As soon as he stepped outside, the pounding in his ears grew louder. He rubbed at his ears, trying to clear the uncomfortable pressure. He did not hear the short beep of the purple van that pulled up on his right, its hand drawn notice against the evils of Monsanto. 

"Need a lift?" Sam called through the window. A spike of pain in Danny’s head, and he was once more taking notes. Sam raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend as he climbed into the passenger side. 

“What’s up with you?” Sam asked.

“I called you guys earlier. Something is up. And I don’t know what to do,” Danny said. He stared at the pad of paper in front of him.

“I’ll say. Danny’s actually taking notes for once,” Tucker joked. “Dude, we’re not even in class yet.”

“No, that's not it,” Danny said. “I think I am in some kind of time-loop.”

“A time-loop?” Sam asked, continuing to drive down the street. “What makes you think that?”

“I have literally had this same day twice now. I think. It’s all so blurry. I woke up and wrote everything I remember, but it wasn’t much,” Danny said. “I keep having these intense moments of deja vu, and my head keeps feeling like Delilah is using my skull as a makeshift drum.”

“I have dreams like that sometimes,” Sam said. Danny flinched as the pain in his head increased. “Usually if I am stressed about having to do something the next day. Like Debutante. It’s like you are going about the day as normal but then you wake up in your bed.”

“Yeah, I have had dreams like that before,” Tucker added.

“Yes, I have, too. But this is different you guys,” Danny said, scribbling down what his two friends just said. “I can’t explain it guys, but it is different. I need you to trust me on this and help me figure it out.”

“We trust you dude,” Tucker defended. “After everything we have been through, Groundhog day would not be the weirdest. We just want to know the details.”

“Me too,” Danny said, reading over what he had written. 

“So, what do you remember about these time-loops?” Sam asked.

“The last one, I woke up and went down for breakfast. My parents were doing trivia, and Mom had made enough food for a small army. They said the exact same thing that they said this morning. And then I ran out of the house- and woke up,” Danny said.

“And what about the other time?” Tucker asked.

“I don’t remember it very well. I wrote it down as soon as I woke up,” Danny said, looking at the notepad in his hand.

“So, that's what’s up with the notepad,” Tucker stated.

“Jazz used to say that if you wrote something down, you would be more likely to remember it. So, if I am having trouble remembering what’s happening-” Danny said.

“-then writing it down might help you remember,” Sam said. “That is, if you’re right.”

“Yeah, the only thing I could remember was running out of Mr. Falluca’s class, wearing one of those awful scrub tops they keep in the office, and being soaked. And there might have been a ghost, but I am not sure?” Danny said, looking at his handwriting. His half-asleep brain did not have the best handwriting in the morning, it could be a little bit hard to read. 

“Well, all of that should be pretty easy to figure out. It’s not like it looks like it is going to rain. This heat is a nightmare, we could use some rain,” Sam said.

“Yeah. Hey Danny, why don’t I look up the winning lottery numbers for today and then you memorize-” Tucker started. Sam slammed her breaks, causing the techno-geek to drop his phone. “Hey!”

“We are not going to use time travel to get lottery tickets, Tucker,” Sam said.

“It was just an idea,” Tucker defended.

“How about focussing on the problem at hand?” Sam scathed. 

“Alright! Killjoy!” Tucker said, earning a glare from the goth girl.

“Getting back on topic now. Has your ghost sense gone off at all?” Sam asked.

“No, no at all. My head is just killing me,” Danny said. The pounding in his ears increased as the conversation continued. “Though not constantly. Just when I have those really intense moments of deja vu.”

“Maybe it's not a ghost, then,” Tucker said with a shrug.

“Really? Then what do you think?” Sam said, pulling into the parking lot of the school.

“Well, Danny is the only one who remembers it, Danny is getting these deja vu moments, Danny has a headache,” Tucker lists off.

“And?” Sam asked.

“Well, when he got his ice powers, those were out of control and painful, so…” Tucker trailed.

It took a moment for Sam and Danny to catch on, both looked at Tucker in shock.

“A new power?” Danny said, his headache spiking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming back! I hope it wasn't too boring. I never realized how hard it would be to write a timeloop. How do you make one day not boring to read about multiple times? If you guys have any suggestions or critiques, please let me know. I had hoped to get a little further into the plot this chapter, but I ran out of time. I am going to try and post every three weeks or so. Please let me know what you think.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

“I mean, it makes sense,” Sam said slowly. Tucker crossed his arms, smug.

“Of course it does. I always make sense,” Tucker chided. Sam merely rolled her eyes. 

“Sure you do,” She said, dragging out each syllable. Tucker sputtered, opening his mouth to retort.

“Guys, focus. Friend with possible-uncontrolled-time-power-induced-headaches over here,” Danny said.

“That's a mouthful. Maybe we should have Jazz come up with a better term-” Tucker mused.

“Focus,” Danny ordered.

“Well, the best way to know is to try it out, Danny,” Sam said. “See if you can get the day to restart on your own terms.”

“You want me to try and live this day  _ again _ ?” Danny asked. “I literally think I haven’t gotten past my homeroom so far, and you want me to try to restart it again.”

“I mean, yeah. How else are you going to find out if you are the one doing it?” Sam asked.

Danny didn’t have an answer to that, which was just as well. Cold air escaped his lips and the sound of screams came from the direction of the school. Danny peered through Sam’s window to see the ectopus that were causing the chaos.

“Huh, two ectopus. One more and it would have been an even thirty,” Tucker said, looking out the window as well. Two ectopus were fighting over a misplaced hoodie on the school grounds. Danny’s heart beat in his head.

“Let me go take care of this first, then we will see if I am, once again, the source of my own problems,” Danny said, quickly turning into Phantom.

“You do get in your own way a lot,” Tucker laughed. Danny didn’t respond before shooting off into the sky, heading invisibly toward the two ectopus. In only moments, the two offending ghosts were safely stored away in the thermos. Phantom hovered over the school a moment, watching the students come back out to gather their things. Some waved at the now visible floating hero, calling their thanks. 

Phantom waved back at them, before turning invisible and making his way back inside Sam’s van. Sam and Tucker were already heading up the sidewalk to the school building, so Danny needed to change back and catch up. Except, he paused for a moment. 

When the cool chill of his transformation had raced over his limbs, he had been so focused on getting rid of the invading ghosts that he didn’t pay much attention to the now familiar feeling of deja vu. But now that the threat had been dealt with, he felt at ease. The looming sense of dread that had hovered over him the entire morning had vanished. His head, which had become a painful distraction, didn’t hurt anymore. Well, not anymore than a sleep-deprived head should. He hesitated, watching his friends move up the path without him. He picked up the notepad he had been writing on and once more read over the contents. Feeling as he did now, the entire thing felt more than silly. He must have just been having a dream. Even so, he wasn’t going to take the chance. Memorizing as much of the note he could, he took a deep breath. Quickly changing his form back into Fenton in case he was wrong, Danny focused on earlier in the morning and opened the van door. 

Danny groaned when his alarm clock went off at seven am. He had only gotten a little more than forty-five minutes of sleep-

“It worked?” Danny asked himself, sitting up immediately. He grabbed the notepad quickly and began to rewrite everything he could remember. As soon as he put pen to paper he could feel the knowledge slipping away from him. When he finished, he stared down at the paper with a frown. He couldn’t remember some important details. However, he had remembered the exact wording of others.

“I need to focus on what is important, I think,” He murmured. 

“Danny, come down for breakfast!”

Robotically, Danny went about his morning routine as quickly as he could. Rushing down the stairs, he entered the kitchen out of breath. Jack sat with a smile on his face, blackboard in hand. Maddie smiled as she added more food to the already overfilled table. 

“It's time for another Fenton Family Funtime. We are going to answer pancakes and eat trivia,” Jack Fenton said with a smile. “Wait.”

Danny didn’t have to glance at the notepad, as he had remembered rewriting that just recently. Still, the sense of deja vu settled in his stomach and the drumming beat in his ears grew.

“Neat,” Danny said, sitting down at the table. As he sat, the feeling lessened, but did not disappear. 

“You and Jazz used to love this game when you were kids. It's just so nice to spend time with you. You’re going into your Junior year! After this it's all college applications and state tests and-” Maddie Fenton wavered. She cleared her throat and sat primly in her chair. She pulled out a small stack of notecards and began to read from them. Danny glanced at his notepad, filled with a lot of details about this very event. 

“First question! What scientist was also the sixth abbot of Brno's Abbey of Saint Thomas?” Maddie asked, her eyes alight with glee. Danny watched as his father flailed his arm in the air. 

“Oh oh! Pick me!” Jack Fenton said. Danny could feel the constant beating of his heart in his ears, though his headache was still very mild.

“Alright, Jack,” Maddie said.

“Gregor Mendel,” Jack said.

“That's correct,” Maddie said, watching as Jack tallied a mark under his name on the blackboard. “Next question, what is the more common name for a Hallux?”

Danny watched once more as his Dad attempted to be called on. 

“Alright Jack, your turn again,”

“The big toe!” Jack said. Maddie smiled at her husband. He once more tallied the score. Danny watched, but did not participate. 

Danny listened to the beating in his ears, trying to figure out some way for it to lessen. He had been able to jump backwards in time, right? So, he should be able to stop the unnerving feeling. That is, if he was really able to jump backwards like he was speculating. It still  _ coul _ d have been a coincidence. Just a really uncanny coincidence. The whole trivia questions at breakfast could technically be a coincidence as well, just a really unlikely one. Also, why is it that he kept coming back to this morning? Maybe he  _ should _ look up the winning lottery numbers on his phone...

“Now, Jack. Why don’t we give Danny a turn to answer this?” Maddie said. Danny jumped when he heard his mom say his name. She looked at him with disappointment. 

“Aww,” Jack pouted.

“Well, Danny?” Maddie asked.

“Uh...” Danny said eloquently, rubbing his hand on his neck. He spared a glance at the notepad.

“Did you hear the question?” Maddie asked, put out.

“‘What scientist created a famous thought experiment about quantum superposition?, right?” Danny said, a side glance at the notepad once more. 

“Well, yes,” Maddie said, relaxing.

“I don’t know,” Danny said. The pounding in his ears had lessened. It was still there, the gentle thud of his heart causing everything to sound slightly muted. No pain. Yet. 

“Come on, Danny-boy. You know this one,” Jack encouraged.

Danny glanced once more at the notepad. He didn’t have this answer written down. Another detail forgotten. Damn. His heartbeat in his ears grew louder, even though it had just started behaving. He looked up at his parents expectant faces.

“Uh, actually. I think I just heard Sam’s van outside. I don’t want her to be waiting on me,” He said in a rush, grabbing his things and heading for the door. He heard his Dad call after him, but he didn’t hear the words. He was already racing into the heat of the morning. Glancing at his notepad, he walked backward down the sidewalk. 

Sure enough, he could already see Sam’s purple van approaching. Its gothic details sticking out against the street plastered with pale blue and yellow election posters, evidence of Tucker’s successful campaign management. Danny waved as the van came closer, barely noticing the custom decal calling for the destruction of Monsanto. 

"Need a lift?" Sam called through the window. Danny’s grin turned into grimace as his headache spiked for a second. He quickly walked around to get into the passenger seat. Sam leaned in for a kiss. Danny gave her a quick peck on the lips, ignoring her dissatisfied expression. 

“Can you two lovebirds get a room? I just wanted a ride, not to barf up my breakfast," Tucker said with feeling. The heartbeat in Danny’s ears quickened.

“Guys, I think I got a new power,” Danny said as Sam pulled back on the road.

His two friends paused at the sudden subject change.

“Sweet, what is it?” Tucker recovered first, already pulling up the ghost files he kept on his PDA, the name he had given his smartphone.

“I don’t know exactly, but it has something to do with time,” Danny said resolutely. His headache was already beginning to form. 

“What makes you say that?” Sam asked with a frown. She kept her eyes firmly on the road. 

“I have been in a time loop. I have experienced this day at least...three times? I think three times. However, I can only remember vague details about what happened before. Sort of like when you wake up from a dream and you just remember the really important stuff. I wrote everything down I can remember on this,” Danny said quickly. He pointed to the notepad in his hand.

“So, that's what’s up with the notepad,” Tucker stated.

“Why do you think it’s a new power? Sounds more like someone is messing with you,” Sam said.

“No ghost sense. Plus I keep having this really painful headache and a strong sense of deja vu,” Danny said, he glanced at his notepad. “It was actually Tucker who said it might be a new power, apparently. At least that's what I wrote down. Though I don’t know much more than that. Some of the details are hazy and I don’t remember them as well.”

“Of course it was me. It must be a new power, then,” Tucker said, blissfully typing away into Phantom’s ghost file. 

“Did you say headache?” Sam asked, looking at Danny with concern.

“Yeah, but it comes and goes. One second it feels like my head is going to split apart, the next it is just like I can hear my heartbeat in my head,” Danny said. He thought a moment longer. “Actually, I keep hearing my heartbeat in my head the whole time. It just gets louder or softer. But it just stays there.”

“Even now?” Sam asked. Danny listened to the crescendo of the beat in his ears.

“Yep, it's starting to get a bit louder, honestly,” Danny said. Sam frowned even further, glaring at the road.

“Ghost tinnitus, adding that in,” Tucker said.

“Thanks.” Danny rolled his eyes.

“So, what makes you so certain that it is a power?” Sam asked again. "It could have been a dream. I have dreams like that sometimes. Usually if I am stressed about having to do something the next day. Like Debutante. It’s like you are going about the day as normal but then you wake up in your bed.”

“Yeah, I have had dreams like that before,” Tucker added. Danny shook his head, half in denial of the statements and half to clear his head. The ever-present thudding of his heart had begun to ache at the words of his friends. He glanced at the notepad, but didn't see it as important enough to write down.

“I just  _ intentionally _ tried to go back. At least, that's what I wrote down. And sure, it could have been a coincidence. But it should be proven soon. I had written down about a ghost attack. That has to count for something,” Danny answered.

“I mean, if we are talking the scientific method, we should probably consider going back-” Tucker said

“No. Not right now. I am not going to try it again. If I have to go through another Fenton Trivia morning, I might scream,” Danny said. “If it is me that's doing it, I just want to focus on trying to get through today.”

“Hey, maybe you can catch the winning lottery numbers and-” Tucker mused. Sam slammed her brakes, causing the seatbelts to stall and cut off Tucker’s words. 

“Danny is not going to use his powers for that, Tucker. That’s not what they are for,” Sam chided. She glared in the rearview mirror to the technogeek.

“I mean,” Danny said, rubbing his chest where the seat belt had dug in. “It wouldn’t be so bad…”

Even though Sam had only looked away from the road for a few seconds, the glare was more than enough to shut him up completely. 

“Let me see that notepad,” Tucker said, leaning up to the front seat. Danny handed it backwards. Tucker squinted at the sloppy writing. “Damn, your handwriting is terrible, dude.”

“I was half-awake when I wrote it,” Danny protested. Heat rushed to his cheeks. 

“Still, how can you even read this? Now I feel sorry for Lancer, it's really bad,” Tucker continued.

“If your just going to nitpick my handwriting-”

“I mean, I am absolutely going to continue to make fun of your second grade chicken scratch, because this is just next level terrible. But I was more wondering if there was something I could use for the election,” Tucker said, scanning the notepad.

“I’m not sure my Dad really needs anymore help,” Sam said, as she pulled into the school parking lot. Everywhere you looked were the pale blue and yellow campaign posters with the smiling face of Jeremy Manson. “All the polls have him at like a 98% of winning this thing. It's like Vlad isn’t even trying to get re-elected as mayor.”

“Yeah, and he seemed really pissed when Danny threw that in his face, too,” Tucker said. “I thought we were going to have to set up some kind of ghostly secret service on Jeremy for a while there.”

“Please don’t call my dad Jeremy,” Sam groaned.

“What can I say? Being his campaign manager has really brought us together,” Tucker said.

“And I am more than happy to tear it apart. Physically,” Sam growled.

“I doubt Vlad has just given up on that, unfortunately,” Danny sighed. “And if he has, it just means that he has found a new way to make my life miserable.” 

“All the more reason to use any advantage you can get,” Tucker said, passing the notepad to Sam once the van was parked. “So what better way to use these developing timeloop powers? If Vlad tries anything, just undo that and prepare for it. And let me know about any political plays he may be going for. Or if he tries to file legal action against FoleyFinds again. I thought the "MasterBaits" shirt with him in the fishing gear your dad made him wear on that fishing trip was hilarious.”

“Can do, Tuck,” Danny said, smiling at the memory. Danny still had three of those shirts in his closet. The heartbeat in his ears thudded louder as a wisp of cold air escaped his lips. “Just in time.”

“Huh, two ectopus. One more and it would have been an even thirty,” Tucker gazed out the window at the ghosts. Two small ectopus were dive bombing the crowd of students, locking on to a cast off hoodie. Danny’s eyebrow twitched as pain shot through his temple. 

“‘ _ Two ectopus attack the school in the morning _ ’. Yep, right on the mark,” Sam read off the notepad. “Though, to be fair, we probably all could have predicted a ghost attack.”

“I am going to get this taken care of as quickly as possible. I really want to avoid whatever situation is going to get me soaked,” Danny said as he changed into Phantom. He leapt into the air, allowing the cool sensation of invisibility and intangibility to follow him into the sky. With little more than a flick of his wrist, he was able to capture both of the smaller ghosts inside the thermos in only a few moments. 

Sam and Tucker had not even waited for their friend to finish before they made their way up to the school. Danny quickly changed back into Fenton. He scrambled to grab his things, keeping the notepad handy, and rushed up the sidewalk to catch up with his friends. He didn't notice the dirty look he got from Wes, who was cradling his wrecked sweatshirt. 

Danny reached his friends right before they entered the school building. He let out a weary sigh, trying to expel the sense of dread he had been feeling. Tucker looked at him, a twinkle in his eye.

"Damn, Danny. You really do look a wreck," Tucker said. 

“Thanks, Tuck. Appreciated,” Danny said, rolling his eyes. He interlocked his fingers with Sam’s, looking over the notepad in the other. Sam looked over his shoulder, curious. 

“I need to find myself a girlfriend, another semester of third wheeling with you two. Thanks but no thanks," Tucker said, glancing around the hall. Danny closed his eyes as the thrumming in his ears increased. He let go of Sam’s hand to scribble on the notepad.

“‘ _ Tucker moans about his love life in line’ _ ,” Sam read. “That's not even useful. He does that like every day.”

“Hey, it's not my fault that people can’t handle all of this,” Tucker argued. 

“Are you three going to grab your schedules, or are you just going to hold up the line all morning?” A girl interrupted. Danny shook his head at the familiarity. His head was beginning to hurt near constantly. The three of them grabbed their schedules from the pick-up and wandered to the side to read them. Danny looked at the schedule, noting Mr. Falluca’s class being his homeroom. And noticed a gut wrenching absence in the schedule. The three friends morosely looked at the schedules.

"Well, we knew that it was going to be slightly off this year," Tucker started, trying to lighten the tension. When neither of his friends responded, he continued with a frown. “I am only in like one class with you, dude. And Sam is only in two. And look at next semester! Sam doesn't even have a class with you. And I only have one. Our lunch blocks aren't even the same!"

"It's fine, guys. I can manage. I've gotten a ton better about managing my time," Danny said, the beating in his head stopped completely, startling him. The constant hammering had completely silenced for just a moment. The moment passed, however, and the beat continued its constant rhythm.

"Danny, it's not too late for us to change our schedules. I can drop Environmental Science," Sam said. Danny was already shaking his head before Tucker could speak.

“I do not want you guys to miss out on those classes. I will be fine. I promise. Just take the classes that you want,” Danny said. “Please.”

Sam squeezed Danny’s hand, looking at him with sympathy. Definitely not pity, Danny told himself. He didn’t need pity. He squeezed her hand back.

“We should probably head to our lockers. At least we were able to score some that were close to each other," Tucker said. Danny was already nodding along.

“Let me just write this schedule down in the notepad really quick. Then head that way,” Danny said. 

"Sounds like a plan," Sam said, waiting as Danny scribbled on the notepad. She glanced over at the note.

_ Schedules are all mixed up. Did not get into Astronomy _

Sam didn’t comment on that, just guided Danny in the direction of their lockers. Danny’s headache had been increasing, but he had a thought before he opened his locker. He handed the notepad to Sam, who only looked at him questioningly.

“Maybe the person who is somehow going to get soaked shouldn’t be the one holding the paper notepad?” He said with a smirk. He flinched at the pain of his head, the sound of his heartbeat getting so loud he couldn’t hear the noise of the hallway. Sam said something, but he couldn’t hear her. Instead, he turned to his locker, opening the slightly dented door. 

He organized his supplies into the locker. There wasn’t much to put in the locker on the first day, as they hadn’t been assigned their textbooks yet. However, focusing on doing the mindless task let the pain in his head lessen. Soon, the beating of his heart quieted enough that he could hear the crowd of people and the friends at his side. With a sigh, he closed the locker door, before flinching when cold water poured down his face. An instinctual step back found him on the linoleum floor. He saw the gleeful look of Dash.

“That makes sense,” Danny sighed to himself. 

"Welcome back, Fenturd," Dash said, taking pleasure in tossing the plastic bottle at Danny’s chest. They didn’t exchange another word as Dash poured his remaining two water bottles on the prone boy. Dash laughed as he walked away, Danny standing in his puddle. Sam looked ready to explode.

“Well, I guess that should have been obvious,” Danny said wryly. 

"Don't you  _ dare _ say it’s no big deal. We are not going through another semester of Dash’s bullying,” Sam hissed. Danny just shook his dripping hair out of his face

“I’m not really sure how it's going to change now, Sam. Danny has been dealing with Dash’s crap for years. The teachers don’t care-” Tucker said.

“But they will care about a kid dripping all over the hallway, and probably make them wear a really ugly scrub top,” Danny said, pointing at the notepad. “So, I am going to rush to the bathroom and get all of this wet off before I get sent to the office. Because no way am I going to actually  _ choose _ to wear one of those awful outfits.”

“Yeah, you better hurry. Just your luck that Lancer would show up or something,” Tucker said, shooing his friend away. With a snarky salute, Danny turned to hurry down the hallway. As he dodged students, the pounding in his ears was mirrored by the pounding in his head. He only rushed faster down the hallway, maybe pushing past freshmen a bit more haphazardly than he had attended. By the time he reached the bathroom door, his head felt ready to split. He forced the door open and rushed into the nearest stall. 

Danny turned intangible, letting the water splash onto the floor. Danny sighed in relief as the headache disappeared instantly. The beating of his heart was completely gone. Reveling in the feeling he ran his gloved hand through his hair.

Glove? Danny paused, looking at his hand. He saw the familiar glowing white glove. With a start, he pulled his hair down into his eyes. It was glowing white as well. Instead of merely turning intangible for a moment, he had completely changed into his Phantom form. Danny paused, not even daring to breathe. He listened to see if anyone in the bathroom made a comment about the unavoidably bright light that accompanied his transformation.

When no comment was made, Danny realized he must be the only person in the bathroom. He let out a slow breath that he didn’t realize that he had been holding. He leaned his head against the side of the metal stall, enjoying the quiet. It was hard to tell how distracting the constant beating in his ears had been until it was gone. He was already tired of the constant noise. And it had only been around for a couple hours.

But that did lead to the question. Why did he only hear it in his human form? Before he could ponder that question for very long, the school bell rang loudly. Cursing, Danny quickly changed back into Fenton and- 

Danny groaned when his alarm clock went off at seven am. He had only gotten a little more than forty-five minutes of sleep-

He sprang up, blinking in confusion as he scrambled for the notepad. Seeing it blank, he cursed colorfully. He began scribbling frantically, trying to rewrite everything he remembered. But it was escaping so quickly. Danny groaned in frustration, trying to think past the pounding in his ears for any details he may have forgotten. He slapped the notepad against his forehead, frustrated. He racked his brain for some way to get the irritating noise to die down. 

“Danny, come down for breakfast!” his mom called. Danny glared at the door to his bedroom.

“Maybe I should just pretend to be sick?” Danny asked out loud. Though Danny knew he wouldn’t. It was tempting. If he pretended to be sick, he might be able to sneak down into the Zone and find Clockwork to tell him how to control this. But the Master of Time was never very upfront in his explanations. Danny took a deep steadying breath, trying to focus on nothing. Maybe if he just didn’t focus on anything, the sound would disappear.

It didn’t, so he went ahead and started getting ready for this day. Again. He trudged down the stairs, frowning at the irritating noise. He looked over at the stacks of food his mom had set up. Both of his parents were smiling at him, his father holding up a small blackboard. 

“It’s a little much, don’t you think?” Danny asked.

“Nonsense! It's time for another Fenton Family Funtime. We are going to answer pancakes and eat trivia,” Jack Fenton said. “Wait.”

Danny sighed, trying very hard not to roll his eyes. Maddie watched his reaction, her forehead pinching together in worry.

“Come on Danny, we know you enjoy trivia. You and Jazz used to love this game when you were kids,” Maddie Fenton said.

“Fine. Let's just get this over with,” Danny said, slumping into his chair. He winced at the flash of pain in his head. 

“Danny. We just want to spend time with you-” Maddie Fenton said, her eyes misty. 

“I know, Mom,” He said, a little too harshly. He softened. “I know. I am just not excited about school. Can we get this started?” 

“Okay, sweetie. If that’s what you want,” Maddie said, sitting down a little bit hesitantly. She held notecards. “First question! What scientist was also the sixth abbot of Brno's Abbey of Saint Thomas?”

The trivia questions and answers had been one of the first things that he had remembered. Making a snap decision as he rewrote his notes earlier, he decided to do a little memory testing. He was testing himself to see if he could remember those answers when (inevitably) this happened again. If he could start to remember everything without constantly having to rewrite it, then he may finally be able to figure out how to stop doing it completely. Or at least be able to recognize why he keeps accidentally sending himself back. Danny listened half-heartedly to the game, noting the rhythm of his heart. As he sat there, the beating did not grow or disappear. At least it wasn’t hurting. 

“Now, Jack. Why don’t we give Danny a turn to answer this?” Maddie said.

“Aww,” Jack pouted.

“I don’t know,” Danny said automatically.

“Did you hear the question?” Maddie asked, trying to encourage her son.

“‘What scientist created a famous thought experiment about quantum superposition?’” Danny said with a shrug.

“Come on, Danny-boy,” Jack encouraged, a slight frown on his face.

“Sorry guys. Just not all up to speed on this. I need to get to school,” Danny said, heading to the door. He ignored his mom calling after him as he stepped out into the daylight.

He had expected it to be hotter, they had been in a heatwave for a while now. But the briefest respite from the suffocating heat was welcome. He walked in the shade of a cloud for a few moments, keeping a lookout for Sam’s Van. He saw it turn onto his street and waved her down. She still beeped her horn at him, pulling up to the curb with a grin. The Monsanto sign all the more prominent. 

“Need a lift?” She said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Yep, and I got just the story to give you as payment,” Danny said, rushing around to the passenger side.

“Well, I was hoping for a kiss, but I will take a story as well,” Sam said as he buckled up.

“Can you two lovebirds get a room? I just wanted a ride, not to barf up my breakfast,” Tucker said. Danny winced slightly before taking a deep.

“Okay, so I am stuck in a time-loop of my own creation that I can’t stop accidentally restarting to this morning. I am using this notepad to try and rewrite everything I find significant so I can remember it because apparently this timeloop doesn’t want me to remember everything that happens on the previous loop. And I have this constant beating sound in my ears that keeps getting so loud I can’t even hear and my head feels like it will burst in pain,” Danny said all in one breathe. He gasped for air as his friends looked on in shock.

“Timeloop?” Tucker asked.

“Guys, I really don’t want to have to spend another car-ride trying to convince you guys that I am not crazy or it was just a weird dream. I would much rather like to focus on actually solving the problem. So if you guys could just go with it, I would really appreciate it,” Danny said.

“We trust you dude,” Tucker defended. “After everything we have been through, Groundhog day would not be the weirdest. We just want to know the details.”

“So, what do you remember about these time-loops?” Sam asked.

Danny sighed deeply, his head starting to ache. And he once again told them everything he could remember. His two friends sat in silence. Sam focusing on driving why Tucker was typing away on his PDA, adding to the ghost files. 

“...so the easiest way for me to prove it to you is when we get to the school,” Danny said, looking over his notepad. “There are going to be two ectopus that attack the front lawn.”

“Huh, two ectopus. One more and it would have been an even thirty,” Tucker mused. Danny winced before adding that on the rewrite list.

“I’m trying to just write down everything that I think is important, like big events that cause a problem. But maybe it would be good to remember a few things that you guys say on the ride to school so that I can just quote them at you to convince you,” Danny mused. “That way I can just convince you as quickly as possible.”

“It would be creepy,” Sam said with relish. Danny smiled at his girlfriend as she pulled into the lot of the school. He opened his mouth to respond when he felt the cold breath of his ghost sense. He looked out his window at the front of the school, eyes wide.

“Dude, when you said two ectopus, you should have made it more clear that they were huge,” Tucker said, taking a picture of the two ectopus half as tall as the school.

Danny made a note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a little bit of writer's block on this chapter. I know where I want this story to go, but I don't have each step mapped out. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think. I appreciate any advice. Even negative criticism would be much appreciated. This is the first fanfic I have posted sine middle school, and I would still like to improve.
> 
> Next Chapter will be out March 2, 2021. Or, if something comes up in my life, March 3, 2021.


	4. Chapter 4

The two ectopus screeched at the fleeing student body, their many tentacles slithering across the ground. The monstrous ghosts picked up the discarded items, inspecting them closely. When they found an interesting item, they tossed it in their fanged mouths and shrieked with glee. They chattered at each other, eyes wide with amusement. One of them was interrupted from its breakfast when a bright green blast hit it on the side of its head. 

The affronted ectopus vocalized its displeasure, looking for the offender. Its friend also searched the skies, not that either had to search long. Phantom floated above the two ghosts, a smirk on his face.

“I know I’ve used the ‘a ghost ate my homework’ excuse a lot over the years, but couldn’t you guys at least wait until midterms?” Phantom snarked. “It's the first day, they don’t even have homework yet! What a waste of a ghost attack!”

The two ghosts wriggled their tentacles in anger, before lurching towards the floating teen. Phantom swiftly flew higher above the school, drawing the two ferocious ghosts away from the vulnerable students. The two ghosts shrieked their annoyance as they convulsed in the air. The one with a now slightly scorched skull leapt in the fray first, reaching with all of its tentacles to throttle its foe. Phantom weaved through the grasping ectopus’s arms, firing ectoblasts at the appendages that got too close. Contorting his body, Phantom bent into unnatural positions, the ectopus’s tentacles getting tied together. Danny grinned at the distress on the ghost’s face…

...and didn’t notice the second ghost had come up behind him. The unmarred ectopus wrapped one tentacle around Phantom’s midsection, pinning his left arm against his body. Phantom grunted, the air squeezed out of his lungs. He winced as his ribs complained at the pressure constricting around him. Immediately, he charged an ectoblast in his free hand, trying to aim at the ectopus’s face. The angle was odd. Phantom’s back was to the ghost’s approaching mouth. Just as Phantom was about to release his blast, a flash of pink energy crashed into the right eye of the ghost, causing it to squeal in pain as bright green ectoplasm spurted from the now ruined eye. It loosened its grip on the Phantom hero, who quickly discharged his blast at the blinded ghost. Quickly escaping, Phantom sucked in air once he was a decent distance away. He grinned at his savior.

“You have the best timing, Red,” Phantom smirked.

“You’re just sloppy, Phantom,” The masked figure of the Red Huntress taunted. She fired her blaster over his shoulder, nailing the non-blinded ectopus’s grasping tentacle. It screamed as smoke curled away from the limb. 

“Long night,” Phantom shrugged, keeping his eyes on the recovering enemies. “I’ll take Mama if you take Papa.”

“Please! If you don’t step up your game, I’ll be taking both,” Red Huntress scoffed, taking off after the half-blinded ghost, now unofficially dubbed Papa.

Danny was exceedingly grateful he had made an ally of Valerie. She didn’t know his big secret, but he was glad she finally realized he was on her side. Her aim had gotten a little too good. He would end up a much more battered than normal if he still had to dodge blows from the best ghost hunter in Amity Park. Well, best  _ human _ ghost hunter. Danny grinned as he focused back on the titanic ghost he had dubbed Mama. Mama bared her sharp fangs, two tentacles still tangled together from his earlier weaving. Phantom charged both of his fists with ectoenergy before speeding toward the hulking ghost, his spectral tail flicking behind him. Mama reached to pluck him out of the air, but Phantom grabbed one tentacle in his glowing hands, forcing his energy down the ghost’s body. Mama screamed as the energy burned and sparked off its green skin, the strong scent of copper in the air. Flailing, Mama made to grab at the hero and pull him away from her limb, but Phantom had already let go, diving below the ghost. As he passed under Mama, he fired a continuous stream of ectoenergy. A green laser burned into the ectopus and scorched its body.

Mama let out a piteous sound, crying out in pain as it tried to flee from the constant barrage of Phantom’s attack. Phantom flew behind the shuddering ghost and opened his Fenton Thermos, sucking in the oversized ectopus. It screeched in defiance one final time as it was tugged into the cramped container. Phantom opened his mouth to call out a snarky remark to Valerie when he heard her yell.

Snapping his head in that direction, Phantom saw Val was skidding down the side of the school building she had just been tossed into. Frantically, she tried to get her sparking hoverboard to float, the back end bent against the force of the wall. She grabbed onto the concrete sill of a passing window, dangling by one arm. The ectopus reached to grab her, but hissed furiously as she shot Papa with her free arm. Phantom rushed in, knocking the ghost away with a punch.

“Red, you okay?” Phantom called out. The hoverboard was no longer sparking after a few moments, the self-repairing Hunter suit was extremely useful that way.

“Yeah. I’m good, Ghost,” Val said, still holding on to the window sill.

“Cool, how about you just  _ hang _ out here while I go and get Papa, too? I don’t want you to have to go through too much  _ pane _ . Get it, like a window pane?” Phantom laughed as Red Huntress groaned. 

“You keep up the puns and I just might have to start hunting  _ you _ again,” Red Huntress complained, her hand twitching toward her blaster. 

“Right, I’m sure you're  _ dead-tired _ of them,” Phantom quipped. Red Huntress groaned again. Phantom could nearly feel the eyeroll under her mask. He shot off after the recovering ectopus that was glaring at him with its one working eye.

“Come on, Papa! How about you just go ahead and join Mama in the nice cozy thermos? Just the two of you. I won’t even charge rent. And then I can flush you back into the Zone with the twenty-seven other cute little ghosties,” Phantom said, firing ectoblast after ectoblast at the ghost. Phantom flew sideways, keeping himself in the ghost’s blind spot. Papa growled, furiously turning to keep its one good eye on the Hero. 

Phantom charged his ectoblasts once more, the green energy crackled and spit. He glanced at Valerie, who had her large wrist ray aimed at Papa. When the ghost turned its back completely to the Huntress, she fired. The ghost yelped in surprise, moving to catch sight of the unseen attacker when Phantom blasted it downwards toward the ground. The high powered blasts knocked the massive ghost on the ground, right at the corner of the school. The brick building cracked under the pressure like a fourteen year old with way too many responsibilities. Before it could right itself, Phantom was already opening the Thermos and capturing Papa. 

“So who was going to catch both ghosts, Red?” Phantom called out, posing for the now stable Red Huntress.

“You would have been dinner if I hadn’t shown up to save your spectral ass,” Red Huntress shot back.

“I could have handled it,” Phantom shrugged, he grinned at her. “But I appreciate the help, Red. There are plenty of times when I really couldn’t do it without you.”

“Don’t get sappy on me, Ghost,” She laughed. Phantom winked at her and waved, before fading into invisibility. Red Huntress also shot away from the scene as the student body carefully checked to see if the coast was clear.

Phantom hastily phased into Sam’s van, changing back into Fenton before sprinting up to the school building. He juggled his bag in his hand, trying to get the strap over his shoulder. He made his way into the school building only tripping once. He scanned the line of students waiting on their schedules, and didn’t see Sam or Tucker anywhere. Briefly, he glanced down at the notepad in his hand, eyebrows furrowed as he read his scribbled handwriting. He slipped between the people in line, ignoring their stares as he jogged towards his locker.

Sam and Tucker had already grabbed their schedules, as well as Danny’s. When they had heard a loud crash near the front of the school building, they decided it might be better to head towards their lockers. In the school’s panic, no one noticed the two teen’s conversation.

“Do you really think it could be time powers?” Sam questioned, eyebrow raised.

“I mean, it’s possible right? He said that he could control it,” Tucker responded.

“Once. He tried that once, according to what he remembered when he was half asleep,” Sam argued. “What if it was just a coincidence? Or if a ghost is just messing with him? Or what if he did just have a really intense dream? He could just be reading too much into it.” 

“Sam, we may tease him a lot, but Danny just isn’t that paranoid. Though maybe he should be,” Tucker responded.

“But what if he is wrong? What if something else is going on and just because we accepted what he said as true he gets hurt? And not just in a ghostly way,” Sam frowned.

Tucker shook his head.

“Sam, Danny seems to really believe that something is happening. After all this time and all that we’ve seen, I am just going to trust him on that. There have been plenty of times where we have second guessed him or doubted what he was saying because it sounded so far fetched. And at the end of the day, it was us with egg on our face. 

“We haven’t always been able to be right there with him,” Tucker continued. “I am sure there are things he has seen or done that he hasn’t even told us about. He knows what he is talking about. Even if he is wrong about it being a time-loop or being a new power. He did predict those two ghosts, even if maybe he should have mentioned their mini-kaiju proportions.”

“He spent all night fighting ectopus. It wouldn’t be that surprising to guess that there would still be a few around,” Sam countered. She sighed. “I’m just worried about him. You saw how he looked this morning. It’s only the first day of school and he already looks exhausted.”

As she said that, the friend in question caught up to them in the hall. His windswept hair falling into his shadowed eyes. He gave a weary smile to his friends. 

"Damn, Danny. You really do look a wreck," Tucker said, noticing as Danny winced just slightly at the word. Danny glanced at the notepad in his hand.

Sam shot Tucker a glare, before handing Danny his class schedule. She pushed his hair out of his eyes, trying to get the fluffy locks to behave. Tucker rolled his eyes at her antics.

“I need to find myself a girlfriend, another semester of third wheeling with you two? Thanks but no thanks," He grumbled, noticing once more the wince of his friend. Danny looked over the schedule for a moment blankly. Without a word, he merely crumpled it into his pocket.

"Well, we knew that it was going to be slightly off this year," Tucker started, interpreting Danny’s reaction as a response to his less than stellar schedule. Danny pulled up the notepad to find a certain entry.

"I am only in like one class with you, dude," Tucker said. "And Sam is only in two. And look at next semester! Sam doesn't even have a class with you. And I only have one. Our lunch blocks aren't even the same!"

"Don’t worry about it. I can handle it,” Danny dismissed. He was frantically writing down the details of the schedule onto the notepad as he walked, trusting his friends to not to let him bump into anyone.

"Danny, it's not too late for us to change our schedules-” 

“I don’t want you guys to change your schedules,” Danny huffed. He glared at his two friends. “I want you guys to take the classes you want. I’ll be fine. I can manage. Maybe I can get help from Valerie.”

“You don’t even know if Valerie is going to be in any of your classes,” Sam argued, frowning at her boyfriend.

“I-” Danny started, he glanced down at the notepad with a puzzled expression. “I guess I don’t?”

Sam rolled her eyes.

“Who’s to even say that Valerie would help you out? She’s always so busy with her ‘job’. She might not have any time for you,” Sam complained.

“Valerie is still my friend,” Danny argued. 

“A friend that used to try to kill you,” Sam snapped.

“Says my girlfriend who did kill me,” Danny snarked. Sam stopped in her tracks, hurt written on her face. “I’m sorry, Sam. That was a bad joke. You know I don’t think of it like that.”

“It was still mean, Danny,” Sam barely whispered.

“It was. And it wasn’t true. I’m really sorry,” Danny pleaded. Sam nodded, but didn’t say anything more. The trio stood in tense silence. Tucker looked between his friends awkwardly.

"Well, okay. We should probably head to our lockers. At least we were able to score some that were close to each other," Tucker said, attempting to change the subject. Danny and Sam looked at him, eyes wide. Tucker resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Third wheel. Again.

"Sounds like a plan," Sam said quietly, before pushing past Danny toward their lockers. Danny watched her, the pain in his head now paired with the ache in his heart.

“That was stupid,” Danny admitted.

“Very. But it will be fine. It’s not like it isn’t true,” Tucker said, trying to diffuse the tension. “If you want to start blaming me instead, I’m down. I am totally cool with being the genius that created the world's greatest superhero.”

“Thanks, Tuck,” Danny said. “Though I am the world’s only superhero.”

“You just wait until I get enough money to build a fully functioning Iron Man suit. I am going full playboy-philanthropist on the world.”

Danny chuckled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

Sam reached her locker first and didn’t say anything to the boys when they arrived. Gone was her somber vulnerability, replaced with vibrant anger. Danny cringed at the look, but walked up to his locker and tried to give her space to work through her feelings. He loved how passionate she was, but when those strong feelings turned against him it was hard to deal with their intensity. Even if he did deserve it. 

He opened his locker, keeping his notepad in the same hand that he held the locker door. Methodically, he put his things into the locker, trying not to catch Sam’s attention. She slammed her door shut moments before Danny locked his. He could almost feel the ice of her cold stare on his neck.

Why was it wet?

With a start, he flinched backwards and fell on the ground as the water poured down. He should have been paying attention. Both Sam and Tucker turned to look at him in surprise, Sam’s hostile attitude forgotten.

Danny looked up at Dash, who was still pouring the cold water on him. Danny sighed at the feeling, the coolness almost a relief for his head. Though he knew it wouldn’t do him any favors in the long run. The beating of his heart caused him to almost miss the outdated insult the jock threw his way. Danny looked away from the football star at his two friends. Tucker was looking at Sam with concern. Sam on the other hand was extremely red in the face.

“Don’t you have something better to do, Dash? Like, I don’t know, beat two stones together to try and make fire with that neanderthal brain of yours? Honestly, you have been calling Danny ‘Fenturd’ since we were eight?”

“Listen, you goth freak-”

“Oh, like I haven’t heard that before,” Sam said, rolling her eyes. She appeared calm, but Danny saw the raging fire in her eyes. She walked up to the jock and placed her hand on his chest, pushing him slightly away. “Listen, you're supposed to have peaked during high school. I’m guessing it's not Danny’s height that you’re always so bothered about.”

She glanced downward, sizing up the jock. Her eyes lingered on once certain place and a steely glint in her eyes matched the catlike smile on her face. 

“Is it because your schlong started to shrink so much it became an innie? Those steroids will do that to you. Maybe they will use the same forceps to pull it out that they use to pull your head out of your-” 

Her words were cut off as the jock splashed the water into her face. She yelped in surprise.

“Shut up, Manson. Just because your dad is about to be elected Mayor, doesn’t mean we have to deal with your freakishness. You're still a loser,” Dash said, face red. Many students had crowded around the scene, some taking their cameras out to film the whole interaction. Dash glared at those students, and stalked off after throwing the empty water bottle at Danny’s head.

Danny was up in an instant, only slightly too fast for a normal person. He grabbed Sam’s shoulder, looking at her in concern as she wiped the water from her eyes. He expected the makeup to run like he had seen in movies, but it stayed inked on. Sam stared at the back of the retreating Jock, glaring daggers.

“Sam, you didn’t have to-”

"Don't you dare say I didn’t have to help. We are not going through another semester of Dash’s bullying,” Sam hissed, water dripping down her chin. Danny pursed his lips together, ignoring the pain in his head. 

“I’m not really sure how it's going to change now, Sam. Danny has been dealing with Dash’s crap for years. The teachers don’t care. You’re gonna have to do something creative to get it to stop,” Tucker said.

“I will think of something,” Sam said decisively, her eyes glittering. She looked towards her locker but shook her head. “I guess I need to go dry off. I don’t think I have a towel with me or anything.”

“I’ll walk with you. I need to dry off some as well,” Danny said, but paused. “If that’s okay with you?”

Sam stood quietly a moment, appraising Danny. Danny said nothing, not knowing what Sam was looking for. The pounding in his head had become extremely loud the last few minutes. Sam nodded, and led the way. Danny sighed in relief, before looking to Tucker who rolled his eyes before saying bye.

Even though they had decided to walk together, the chaos of a crowded high school hallway didn’t allow for it. Instead, Sam took the lead while Danny followed behind. Usually, Danny would have to dodge around the multitude of students if he were on his own. But the combination of Sam’s gothic style and the anger that still boiled in her eyes caused most students to jump out of her way. It made the walk all the easier.

Which was a good thing, because it felt like every step he took was becoming more and more of a challenge. The cacophony of students was drowned out by the thunderous pounding of his heart. His head felt close to bursting. He stopped, leaning against a wall, not noticing the students staring at him. He held his head in his free hand, feeling the notepad drop to the ground.

Sam turned around, shocked that Danny was not behind her. To her horror, she saw him leaning heavily against the wall, a breath away from falling. She ran over to him, and grabbed both of his shoulders saying something. Danny tried to focus on what she was saying, but his vision began to fade as he slid down the wall...

Danny groaned when his alarm clock went off at seven am. He had only gotten a little more than forty-five minutes of sleep-

Danny slowly opened his eyes, recognizing this feeling. He reached for the notepad and pen before plopping onto his back. He began to scribble everything he remembered writing. When the memory faded, he let his arms drop onto the bed as well.

“Do I remember the trivia questions?” He asked himself out loud. He screwed up his face in concentration. “The first one was about an Abbot and Saint Bernies, that was...Gregor Mendel? And then the one about the big toe…”

Danny ran them through in his mind before he heard his Mom calling for breakfast. He sighed, not answering her, pulling himself reluctantly out of bed. He started to get ready for school, but stopped. He knew what would happen if he walked down the stairs. His parents would be there, they would do trivia, he would be picked up by Sam, two ectopus would attack, and at some point he would probably be sent back to this very moment with no way to prevent it. If this was a new power, he needed to get control of it. And obviously just deciding to go with the day was not going to get this constant drumming in his ears to go away.

Danny grabbed his cell phone and typed out a text to Sam and Tucker.

“ _ Guys, this is going to sound weird but we have been stuck in a time-loop. We thought it might be me doing it with some kind of new power. However, I can’t figure it out. I am going to dip into the Zone and try to find clockwork to see if he can give me any advice. Even cryptic advice would be better at this point. _

_ “Two giant Ectopus are going to attack the school by the time you get there. Try to find a way to warn Valerie or something to hold them off. I will be back as soon as I can. Stay safe. _ ”

Danny pressed send on the text message before going ghost. He toyed with the idea of taking care of the ectopus before he headed into the Ghost Zone. But the fact that he had no idea when he would restart the day gave him pause. His head felt a little clearer now that he was in his ghost form, the constant beating of his heart wasn’t causing him pain. A sudden thought crossed his mind as he placed two fingers on the vein in his throat.

“Right, no heartbeat,” Danny said, kicking himself for not drawing that conclusion earlier. He hid his backpack in his closet, so his parents would think he had left already. He turned invisible then dived down through the floor to get to the lab. 

The Fenton security system went haywire at his presence, setting off alarms at the touch of his ectosignature, but Danny put all of his speed into getting into the Lab as quickly as possible. With practiced ease, he pressed the button to open the portal as he passed by. Without stopping, the portal opened just as he got to the doors and within seconds he was surrounded by the radioactive greens and purples of the ghost zone. Corkscrewing through the air, Phantom turned in the direction of Clockwork’s tower. Keeping a watchful eye on the sky around him Phantom made his way deeper into the Ghost Zone. 

As tired as he was, it would make sense that he would miss things. Even as he tried to be wary, he didn’t notice how many floating doors he passed on his way through the Zone. He didn’t pay attention to exactly how many times he had to dodge out of the way of debris floating past. He didn’t really pay that much attention to the scuffle the Box Ghost and the Lunchlady were having in the distance. 

However, he really should have been able to spot the ghost dressed in white from head to toe from a mile away. As it was, he didn’t realize that Walker was close until he literally bowled into the Warden, sending them both spinning. With a grunt, Phantom pushed himself away from the ghost, getting into a defensive stance. He looked around quickly, seeing if he could spot any of Walker’s goons. Of course, he also missed the six of the prison guards that were on his right. At least there was no sign of Bullet.

“Attacking a man of the law?” Walker spat, eyes narrowing as he readjusted his clothing. “Looks like we found another outlaw.”

“I wasn’t expecting someone to step out in front of me, Walker,” Danny said, keeping on guard. 

“Always a talker,” Walker deadpanned. Phantom rolled his eyes.

“What, is having a sense of humor against the rules now?” Danny snarked, he dodged a shot from one of the identical prison guards.

“With all the rules you’ve broken I won’t allow-” Walker started, but was cut off by a weak ectoblast, distracting him as Danny raced past him. 

The Warden called for his guards to chase after the halfa. Phantom didn’t glance back as he bobbed and weaved to avoid the torrent of ectoshots taken at him. He ducked behind debris and small islands when he could, trying to lose the guards on his tail. It was hard to tell if they were the same prison guards the whole time or if more had joined the chase. Honestly, as weird as ghosts could be, it's strange to see how so many of them could look the exact same. Danny tried to keep going in the direction of Clockwork’s tower, but it was nearly impossible to maintain a straight course when Walker’s goons jumped out at him at random intervals.

Phantom waited as a group of Guards passed him by, shouting orders at each other. Once the patrol passed, he raced out of his hiding spot behind a small island. He had only gone a few feet when he felt the hot sticky feeling of an ectoblast hit his back. With a cry, he went careening forward. Phantom twisted in the air. He felt the heat of another ectoblast just miss his head as he turned around to see Walker staring down at him. Of course the Warden had to be the one to find him.

“Come on, Walker. I’m busy. I have places to be, people to see. I know you have better things to do than have the same old fight we always do,” Phantom said, backing away from the White Ghost.

“I may have been out here trying to find a different escaped convict than you, but the satisfaction of catching you will more than do,” Walker said before launching himself at Phantom. Phantom dodged to the side.

“Aw, Walker. I didn’t know you cared,” Phantom said, firing and ectoblast at the ghost. Walker recovered before it could hit and retaliated with pink ectoblasts. Danny swerved away from the assault and launched himself into close quarters with Walker. Walker tried to punch the halfa but Phantom ducked under his fist. Phantom swung an uppercut, meeting with Walker’s jaw. The ghost grunted at the impact, being thrown from the force of the punch. Phantom didn’t give him a chance to recuperate, instead assailing Walker with a flurry of blows. Walker tried to gain space, but Phantom wouldn’t let the older ghost out of his range.

Walker growled in irritation, trying to regain the upperhand. Phantom dodged or blocked all his attempts to take control of the battle. With great effort Phantom struck a fierce kick against the warden gut, flinging the ghost away. Walker righted himself, glaring at the winded halfa. With the distance between them, Danny flicked his spectral tail into existence and twisted to fly in the other direction.

Only to immediately stop at the wall of Walker’s goons, all with weapons pointed at Phantom. With a squawk, Phantom threw up a haphazard shield that held up against the first few blows before shattering under the assault. The multitude of blasts throws the teen backwards. Phantom doesn’t have time to react to the heavy blow that Walker lands on his back. The familiar scent of burnt skin and melted rubber makes Phantom almost gag. The force of the blows knock the teen into a chunk of floating rock, its sharp edges digging into his stomach. Danny saw stars, and tried to pull himself up on his elbows before a heavy boot stepped on his wounded back. Danny bites back a scream at the pain, not willing to give the ghost the satisfaction of watching him squirm. Danny tried to force his way out from under the boot to no avail, considering his options.

“Now there is no use trying to run. I’ve got you right where I want you, son,” The warden taunted. 

Danny started to spit back a retort before he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. He felt his forehead slam against the ground and his vision went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, only a day late. Sorry about that guys. I had some major procrastination issues. I had planned for this chapter to be a little bit longer, you can probably guess by where it is cut off of. The next chapter should be up by March 23rd. Or if I have something come up, March 24th. 
> 
> Thank you for continuing to read. It means a lot to me. I hope I can continue to deliver quality content.


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